


Type O Negative

by DefaultJane



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama & Romance, F/F, Friendship/Love, Hunniper - Freeform, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 06:12:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14635743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefaultJane/pseuds/DefaultJane
Summary: Helena hadn't planned on a future, she'd expected to get the death penalty for assisting in the President's assassination, but then Hunnigan showed up and pulled Helena out of that mess, offering her a second chance like she always does. However, there are times when second chances feel more like a punishment than a gift.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a response to a writing prompt "Fuck you, fuck this, fuck that - fuck everything" for Hunniper.

“I don’t understand why you ever thought doing that would be a good idea or that you’d get away with it,” Hunnigan said, shoving the door to her office shut, her usually so calm and cool demeanor beginning to switch over to fire and brimstone which lately had been reserved mostly for scolding Helena of her antics.

“I don’t understand why _you_ think I was trying to get away with it. Hell, I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Helena commented and slumped into the chair opposite of Hunnigan’s massive wooden desk. The chair was intentionally a little bit lower than the one Hunnigan had. Basic office psychology to let the person sitting there know that Hunnigan was the alpha here. Not that she needed the higher chair for that; was a bit over six feet tall even when not wearing heels which made her somehow seem more authoritative even if it was just a physical feature which didn’t really guarantee anything regarding one’s personality.

“God damn it, Helena, Murphy is an asset and he is here under our protection… _your_ protection, and you pull a stunt like this!” Hunnigan said, the low and calm tone deceiving, by now Helena knew better; low and calm was Hunnigan’s most dangerous tone.

“Oh, please, he’s a crybaby, I only roughed him up a little,” Helena scoffed and sat up straight, putting her hands on her knees as she leaned forward to challenge the taller woman. “He deserved it.”

Helena didn’t think she’d even done much damage to him, she’d merely delivered a quick kick to the back of his knee to drop him to the floor and twisted his arm behind his back while holding him down by pressing her knee into the spot between his shoulder blades. She’d leaned against his head with her entire weight like she was trying to drown him into the gray linoleum floor; she’d wanted to repeatedly smash his stupid-looking face into the floor, but that would’ve probably killed him. She hadn’t broken any bones or even fractured anything, she’d merely bruised him. For what he’d done, she thought he deserved worse.

“We don’t get to pick and choose who we protect! We don’t interfere with our assets’ personal lives; protective agents are there to make sure the asset is safe while staying with us and providing us intel. Protective agent does _not_ manhandle their asset.”  
“He’s a scumbag rat, not some foreign diplomat! If you think I would turn a blind eye for someone like that, you obviously don’t know me at all.”

“I’m not asking you to condone it, I don’t condone it, but you must understand that you can’t react!”

“I can, and I did! Back when I was in the military and deployed in Afghanistan, I couldn’t because it was their culture, over there a woman is a man’s property and he can do as he pleases with her, but I sure as fucking hell will never, _never_ just look the other way when some shitstain over here decides to compensate for his lack of dick by beating a teenaged girl!” Helena shouted, rising to her feet so quickly and so agitatedly her chair fell over. She leaned her arms to Hunnigan’s desk, hovering over the other woman who, much to Helena’s disappointment, didn’t even flinch. She simply pushed her glasses up, tilted her head back and looked into Helena’s eyes, responding to the challenging glare with one of her own.

“You’re suspended indefinitely, without pay. Effective immediately. Now, get the hell out of my office,” Hunnigan said. Helena inhaled deeply through her nose and straightened her back, her hands balling into tight fists.

“Fuck you, fuck this, fuck that - fuck everything!” she yelled and stormed out of the office slamming the door shut behind her so hard the window on it and in the ones on the surrounding walls rattled.

* * *

“Gimme another,” Helena held up a finger and the bartender visibly sighed at her request.

“I think you’ve had more than enough. Go spend your money on the girls for a change,” he suggested, nodding toward the stage in the middle of the room, surrounded by men in neat suits (probably businessmen from out of town who had to escape across the city limits lest their wives find out about their hangout spots) and their opposites - the weird-looking guys who probably wouldn’t get anywhere near a woman with any kind of a self-preservation instinct outside the strip club.

“I didn’t come here to pay for tits and ass, I can see those in the mirror if I want,” Helena scoffed and patted her palm against the bar impatiently, causing the tower of upside-down shot glasses to tumble and clatter over the worn and stained wood.  
“Then why did you come here?” the bartender scoffed back and grabbed the bottle of vodka from the counter behind him as Helena gathered the empty glasses up, putting them in a row instead of theatrically assembling them into a tower.

“For the cheap drinks and honestly, I’m a sucker for nice atmosphere,” Helena drawled sarcastically. There was nothing nice about the loud music and even louder people squirming and writhing in neon lights, the stench of sweat and cheap cologne clinging sickeningly to the roof of Helena’s mouth with every inhale of the stagnant air.

“This is the last one,” the bartender said and poured her the shot which she downed immediately.  
“Your loss,” she said, paid her tab and slid down from the barstool before heading toward the exit. Once outside, she dug her phone from her pocket and thumbed the screen, trying to unlock it. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make out the numbers very well despite her valiant effort of squinting hard, and she ended up punching in the wrong code three times and the phone locked her out.

“Oh, fuck you!” she yelled at the inanimate object in her hand requesting for her personal unlock key. “The fuck you looking at?” she then aimed her wrath toward the young woman passing by, giving her a curious glance. She didn’t comment.

Helena stuffed the phone back into her pocket agitatedly and began walking home. She still had a few blocks to go when she was about to pass a restaurant and she spotted a familiar tall figure exiting the establishment, her arm linked with a slightly shorter man’s who was busy opening the taxi’s door for her.

“Hunnigan!”

“Oh, good Lord,” she groaned when she saw Helena. She was tempted to just duck into the car and hurriedly order the driver to drive, but that would’ve been rude. Instead, she told the man he should take the taxi and she’d catch another one. He quirked an eyebrow, inquiring if she was certain and she nodded, stepping backward on the sidewalk. She held her hand up to gesture good-bye and turned to face Helena when the taxi pulled away.

“Sorry to interrupt your date.”  
“No, you’re not. And it wasn’t a date, not that it’s any of your business,” Hunnigan corrected, her hands finding their way onto her hips as she mentally prepared for the scene Helena would inevitably make.

“You had no right to suspend me.”  
“And you have no right to accost me in the middle of the street, but here we are,” Hunnigan shrugged.

“You know damn well that Murphy deserved what he got!” Helena argued and moved to follow Hunnigan when the taller woman turned and began walking away, obviously having no intention of continuing the conversation out here with the drunken agent.  
“It’s not about what he did or didn’t deserve, it’s about how you reacted. The agency cannot condone your behavior, I cannot condone your behavior, you’re lucky I didn’t outright fire you,” Hunnigan told her.

“I bet you were reeeaaallly tempted to, tho, right?” Helena laughed bitterly and Hunnigan stopped in her tracks.

“You know what, how dare you?” she hissed, turning to face Helena, pointing her finger at Helena’s face. “Do you have _any idea_ how damn hard I had to work to get your recruited in the first place, let alone the effort I put in to ensure that you wouldn’t be thrown in jail for treason after the stunts you pulled in Tall Oaks? And now you think I’m _happy_ about having to suspend you? You ungrateful brat!”

“Oh, please, we both know that if I’d gone down for treason, you would’ve gone down for harboring a terrorist, so I seriously doubt all your efforts were completely selfless!” Helena said and she could tell Hunnigan was on the verge of slapping her.

Helena wished Hunnigan would actually do it, not so much because she would’ve enjoyed getting hit in the face, but because she wanted to know if she’d have what it takes to make Hunnigan snap. She was always to neatly put together and calm, it would’ve taken a lot more willpower to _not_ keep intentionally antagonizing her. Helena realized it was childish, but in her current state, she didn’t care.

All her life she’d been the serious, responsible one; she’d needed to be because she could never trust Deborah to handle herself let alone look after Helena. She was the baby sister, she was the one who should be coddled, protected and always aided no matter what the reason or how much of whatever was wrong was actually her own doing. Helena’s job had been to be the guardian angel and problem solver.

But now, for the first time in her life, Helena was responsible for no one other than herself, she had a chance to be as stupid and childish as she wanted, and it made no difference to anyone else.

“Go home, Helena,” Hunnigan said and turned once more to walk away and raised her arm high in the air when she spotted a taxi.  
“I’m not done talking to you!” Helena went after her, having to take considerably faster steps to keep up with the taller woman’s long and agitated strides.

“Well, I’m done talking to you because there’s nothing more to discuss. You’re suspended, end of story,” Hunnigan said and got into the taxi, not expecting Helena to go to these lengths to follow her, but once again, the younger woman surprised her. She slipped in the backseat before Hunnigan had a chance to close the door.

“Oh, for God’s sake. Really, Helena? Really?”  
“I told you, I’m not done talking to you.”

“What’s your address?” Hunnigan asked and Helena told her it without thinking more of it until Hunnigan instructed the driver to take them there.  
“So, what exactly do you want me to do?” she then asked.

“I want to go back to work.”  
“Helena, even if this were a minor little thing that I could just smooth over by pretending to slap you on the wrist, you have to understand you didn’t leave me any other choice than to suspend you! Just... think of it as a vacation or something!”

“Vacation, right,” Helena scoffed, “I get the feeling I won’t be reinstated any time soon.”

“Oh, my God, why are you so paranoid? I told you, if I wanted to fire you, I would’ve, but I don’t, because even with all the crap you put me through with your reckless and insubordinate behavior, you’re a good agent!” Hunnigan said in exasperation. “Days like this I wish you weren’t so that I’d actually have a valid reason to fire you and save myself this trouble!” she then confessed in a growl.

“We’re here,” the driver informed them and Hunnigan glanced at Helena, expecting her to move, but Helena had no intention of doing that.

Sighing, Hunnigan got out from the opposite side, circled the car and yanked the door open before reaching to grab Helena’s arm and pull her out. When she turned to get back inside by herself, she realized Helena was still gripping her forearm.

“Do you mind?” she said through clenched teeth and Helena’s steely grip was an answer enough. “For the love of...” Hunnigan then mumbled, dug into her purse and paid for the ride, deciding she’d walk Helena home and escape later.  
“You really hurt my feelings,” Helena complained as they walked to the third floor and to her apartment.

“I’m the one hurting _your_ feelings?” Hunnigan asked as Helena tried to find the right key from her keychain.  
“Shit,” Helena cursed when she dropped the keys. Hunnigan picked them up and finally unlocked the door, hoping Helena would let go of her, but she still didn’t; instead, she pulled Hunnigan inside with her.

“You said you want to fire me!” Helena said, returning them to the original topic of conversation, a few drops of saliva shooting from between her lips as she spoke. Hunnigan grunted internally and barely resisted the urge to wipe her face. The drop that landed on the left lens of her glasses wasn’t something she could ignore, though.

“That’s not how I meant it, I just meant it would make my life easier if I could fire you because you are the reason I’m on the verge of getting gray hairs despite not being even thirty-five yet,” Hunnigan said, picked the glasses from her nose and wiped the lens to her sleeve.

“How’s is... how’s that, is that’s different?” Helena slurred, the last shot or two she’d downed finally beginning to kick in. She pressed her palm against the wall, trying to steady herself as the spins began to take over and a sickening nausea began to climb up her throat, pushed upward by the constricting emptiness of her stomach and the sour burning of the vodka.

“Maybe it isn’t, I just worded it wrong. What I meant is that I don’t want to fire you, I didn’t even want to suspend you, but the way you behave leaves me no other options, I can’t just ignore and excuse your violent outbursts,” Hunnigan explained.  
“But violent outbursts are the only thing I’m good at!”

“I’m beginning to see that,” Hunnigan mumbled.

“I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you,” Helena then said, her words becoming ironic a couple of seconds later when she tripped on the trash bags she’d gathered into the foyer but hadn’t bothered taking into the Dumpster and as she fell, she pulled Hunnigan down with her, causing her to bruise her side when she fell on the small table, sending the small woven basket that housed unpaid bills on it to fly across the room, the papers fluttering out from it once it landed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Helena kept repeating as they got back up again. “I’m sorry,” she said once more, gripping Hunnigan’s shoulder with her left hand as the right one found its way to the back of Hunnigan’s neck.  
“Let me make it up to you,” Helena said and pulled on Hunnigan, rising to stand on her toes a little to be able to close the gap between the two of them, planting her lips onto Hunnigan’s roughly enough to almost bruise them.

“Helena, stop,” Hunnigan said into the kiss, nudging her head backward to escape the tip of Helena’s tongue that was quickly finding its way into Hunnigan’s mouth.

“Oh, come on, you know what they say; kiss and make up,” Helena said, leaning toward Hunnigan again, pushing herself tightly against Hunnigan’s body, wrapping her arm around her midsection and squeezing tightly.  
“You’re hurting me,” Hunnigan grunted when Helena’s arm pressed against the already bruised spot in her side.

“I promise I’ll be gentle, just come to bed.”  
“God damn it, Helena, stop it!”

“Come on, please? Don’t act like you wouldn’t wanna do it, I know you would, I’ve seen how you look at me, like I’m a piece of meat you wanna take a bite out of,” Helena said, her hand still firmly gripping the back of Hunnigan’s neck as she tugged on her, backing toward the living room which doubled as her bedroom (and her dining room, the rare times she ate at home these days).

“I would never look at you like a piece of meat, I’m a pescetarian,” Hunnigan said sheepishly.  
“Let go of me, get some sleep and sober up!” she then yelled and finally yanked herself free from Helena’s hold when Helena let herself fall back onto the bed.

“Hey, if it’s because you prefer dick, then let me tell you, I’ve got enough toys to make sure I’m second to no male!” Helena proclaimed rather proudly and Hunnigan would’ve laughed had the situation been anything but this.  
“Please, just stop,” she sighed.

“Would you unlock my phone? I can’t remember my puke,” Helena then asked and Hunnigan frowned at the sudden change of the subject. She was about to ask about it when Helena spoke again.

“Don’t leave.”  
“Helena...”

“Everybody always leaves me.”

“Good God,” Hunnigan scoffed in disbelief. Helena didn’t speak, she merely turned to lay on her side and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her sobs silent but still easy to notice.

* * *

Hunnigan sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through Helena’s hair in long, slow strokes until Helena finally fell asleep. Sighing deeply, Hunnigan got up and took a moment to look around the small apartment.

It was clean aside from the garbage bags piled in the foyer and, as Hunnigan soon discovered, the kitchen. It smelled like stale cigarettes and old booze. The counter was overflowing with empty bottles, judging from their labels they’d once contained whiskey, gin, vodka and rum. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any leftover food rotting away in the sink which was good at least.

“Annnd there’s an image I won’t be able to get out of my head anytime soon... she sure wasn’t joking,” Hunnigan mumbled to herself when she looked to the sink which was was cluttered with carelessly rinsed sex toys, copious amounts of dried white streaks staining the surfaces ranging from cyber skin and silicone to plain plastic vibrators.

“Not touching that,” she said, meaning it literally and otherwise as she decided not to think about it or the people Helena may have used said toys with. Of course, there was a possibility she’d just used them on herself, and frankly, that was a scenario Hunnigan much preferred. She wished she could’ve said she preferred that just because it would’ve meant the risk of Helena having gotten herself infected with a sexually transmitted disease became obsolete, but that wasn’t the entire truth. The truth was she found herself feeling sickeningly jealous when she unwillingly conjured up a mental image of Helena fucking a series of faceless strangers.

 _Not touching that,_ she told herself again, determined to banish the idea from her head.

Hunnigan looked through the cabinets and drawers until she found the trash bags. She collected the litter from the counters into them and took them into the foyer, deciding she’d done enough when she remembered Helena’s drunken request regarding her phone. She assumed Helena had been referring to her personal unlock key rather than actual puke when she’d said it. Hunnigan certainly hoped so.

Hunnigan glanced at the sleeping woman and sighed quietly, kneeling beside the bed and reached to pat Helena down.

“…get your fucking hands off me,” Helena grumbled angrily in her sleep. Hunnigan happily obliged after discovering the phone in Helena’s front pocket. She slipped it out and looked around the room, located the USB-cord for it and made her way over to Helena’s laptop that sat on the desk by the window.

Judging from the label glued to the edge of it, it was Helena’s work laptop, and knowing how lazy Helena could be with basic security measures, Hunnigan tried out the default password. It came as no surprise that the computer welcomed her. Once logged in, Hunnigan plugged the phone to the laptop with the USB-cord. It took her mere moments to delete Helena’s lock settings.

 _Thank God I’d rooted her phone,_ Hunnigan mused. She routinely did that only to Leon and Helena’s phones nowadays after discovering how clumsy they both tended to be with their devices.

She found a piece of paper and a pen to leave Helena a note and finally, slowly and quietly exited the apartment.

***

 


	2. Chapter 2

__

_art commissioned from[devilsarm ](http://devilsarm.tumblr.com/)  
_

* * *

 

_Your new PIN is 12345.  
And for God’s sake, get those dildos into the dishwasher before they turn into a biohazard. –I.H._

Helena squinted and blinked repeatedly at the note left for her on her desk. The garbage bags were gone, and her kitchen was noticeably cleaner than it had been the last time she’d been there.

“Oh, God,” she breathed when she recognized the handwriting, the realization then bringing back a tidal wave of shattered memories of what she’d said and done last night.

“Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no...” Helena groaned, burying her face into her hands, the feeling of slight embarrassment quickly transforming into full-blown mortification the more memories she was able to piece together.

“I wish I was dead,” she whimpered, crawled back into bed and pulled the blanket over her head as if it were enough to shield her from the world and from her own mistakes.

 _So, do it, you wussy,_ the intrusive, self-hating part of her whispered. _You’ve got a gun, just put the barrel into your pretty little mouth and pull the trigger. You’ve got knives, slash your wrists or stab yourself. Hell, smash your head into the wall hard enough or tape a hose to the exhaust pipe of your car and put the other end through a crack in your front window, start the engine and keep breathing until you just fucking die._

“No.”

_Of course not, you’d rather just lie there and wish yourself to death, because that works so well._

Truthfully, she didn’t really want to die… but she didn’t want to live either. Everything had become so pointless recently. After Tall Oaks and China, she’d fully expected to get the death penalty and that was something she’d been disturbingly okay with, at least at the time. She’d accomplished her mission, there was nothing left for her to do or to live for either since Deborah was gone and didn’t need to be looked after anymore.

But then Hunnigan had gone and done her tricks and stunts and suddenly, Helena had been forced to plan a future for herself. It wasn’t going very well. After the initial relief, it had taken less than a week for her to realize she had no idea what she was doing.

“Damn it, Hunnigan, why didn’t you just let me take the fall, I was guilty.”

 _Your life sucks and it’s her fault because she was stupid enough to save you. Yeah, let’s go down that road, shall we?_ the sarcastic mocking voice within her said.

There was no need to analyze it deeper, she knew it wasn’t Hunnigan’s fault her life sucked; it was Hunnigan’s fault Helena was alive, the rest was up to her. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what to do with it.

* * *

“Are you gonna tell me what happened?” doctor Chakwas inquired after examining the X-ray of Hunnigan’s midsection.  
“I already did, I fell,” Hunnigan repeated and it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Uh-huh and did you strangle yourself on the way down?” Chakwas quirked an eyebrow as she put her fingers underneath Hunnigan’s chin and pushed up, making her tilt her head back and offer a better view of the bruises on the side and the back of her neck.  
“I promise you, it’s not what you think,” Hunnigan said shaking her head.

“Yeah, it never is.”  
“I think you’re projecting a little there,” Hunnigan pointed out and the doctor smiled.

“Well... either way, there’s no fracture as far as I could see, so you should be good as new as soon as the bruise heals,” Chakwas said.  
“I figured but I wanted to be sure.”

“Good choice. Do you need me to write you a few days of sick-leave?”

“No, but thanks for offering,” Hunnigan said, slid down from the examination bed and exited the doctor’s office. She headed back to the HQ to pick up her laptop, deciding to call it a day and work from home tomorrow. There were no active campaigns taking place currently and she didn’t think she was needed at the office in person, the reports could be written and read anywhere.

When she got home, she saw a familiar figure standing on her porch, leaning against the side of the front door, her arms folded over her abdomen and legs crossed at the ankles.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Hunnigan muttered and got out of the car.  
“I wanted to apologize, but since I’m suspended, I don’t have access to the HQ anymore, so I came over,” Helena said and Hunnigan could tell she was drunk again.

“I don’t even remember what I did exactly.”  
“I believe you,” Hunnigan commented and dug her keys from her purse, but changed her mind, pulling out a pack of cigarettes instead.

“…but the more I think about it, the more I realize there probably isn’t any apology that would make this better,” Helena said, eyeing the bruising on Hunnigan’s neck, her handprint still clearly visible despite the generous amount of concealer Hunnigan had used trying to cover it. “I’ll hand in my resignation in the morning.”

Hunnigan sighed a little and lit a cigarette, exhaling the smoke in a sharp agitated breath.

“Look, if there’s one thing I want you to remember from last night, it is that I do _not_ want you to quit, I do _not_ want to fire you, and that I think you’re a good agent... at least when you’re able to control your anger. I meant what I said, I don’t want you to quit.”

Helena was quiet for a long time, swaying a little from side to side, too drunk to stand up straight. Hunnigan was relatively certain Helena wouldn’t remember this conversation either in the morning.

“I didn’t know you smoke,” Helena finally spoke.  
“I didn’t for the longest time, but recently, the urge to start up again got the better of me. I keep telling myself it’s a way to relief stress and that I’ll feel better, which is ironic because I know it’s actually doing the exact opposite… but here I am,” Hunnigan explained and Helena seemed to understand from her tone and from the way she looked at Helena that Hunnigan wasn’t talking just about smoking.

“We all have our crutches,” Helena offered a lopsided smile and took a seat next to Hunnigan on the porch swing.

“True, but some are more harmful than others. I won’t lie, I’m really going to need you to clean up your act, I can’t protect you if you keep this up,” Hunnigan said bluntly and Helena glared at her, another wave of anger brought on by hurt and the feeling of being judged flashing through her.

“Oh, yes, you _need_ me on the field, you _need_ me to do my job, you _need_ me to be worth all the shit you put yourself through because you vouched for me, you _need_ me to behave myself because it’s your reputation on the line!” she ranted and paused to take a long breath.

“Well, I didn’t fucking ask you to!” she then said.  
“I never said you did!” Hunnigan pointed out, getting frustrated herself. “Why the hell do you have to act like this!”

“Because I hurt inside and I don’t know what to do about it!”  
“Well, clearly you can rule out excessive drinking, getting into fights, and acting out sexually as plausible cures!” Hunnigan said.

“Oh, don’t give me that look!” Helena scoffed and Hunnigan didn’t even realize she had been giving Helena a look. She told her as much.  
“The you think I’m a slut-look,” Helena elaborated, “because who I sleep with is none of your business and neither is how many people I sleep with.”

“I never implied it was,” Hunnigan muttered but couldn’t deny feeling jealous again.  
“And who the hell are you to tell me how to deal with loss? What the hell do you know about it?” Helena continued, obviously determined to get the argument she wanted. Unfortunately for her, Hunnigan wasn’t the type who would take the bait very easily.

“A great deal more than you seem to think I do,” she responded calmly. Helena didn’t speak, just stared at her, obviously expecting her to tell more. Hunnigan exhaled deeply and put out the cigarette.

“Before working at the D.S.O. I was a 911-dispatcher. The losses I mentioned may have not been personal like yours is, but it doesn’t mean they didn’t affect me. Imagine someone calling you, panicking because they’re certain they’re about to die or lose someone, and all you can really do is talk. Sometimes it was too late and I can’t tell you how horrible and hollow the silence is when that happens,” Hunnigan said.

“I’ve always found the sound of sirens comforting,” Helena said and Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow at that.  
“How so?”  
“Because it means help is on the way.”

 _Help is on the way,_ Hunnigan mused. She smiled a little at the memory that particular phrase brought back.

“You’re right. I remember this one time… it was my the end of my shift I was getting ready to leave when I got a call. It was a little girl, maybe ten years old or so. She’d woken up to her parents fighting, and the girl told me her mother was now running around the house, looking for her kids, screaming something about them eating puppies,” Hunnigan said and dug out another cigarette, pausing to light it.

“I told the girl to get her sister and hide until the officers would get to the house. So, they hid and it couldn’t have been more than just a few minutes, but it felt like hours, and I felt so useless because all I could do was to keep saying ‘help is on the way’. The mother did find the girls in the end, I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but there was a lot of screaming… thankfully, the cops got there in time.”

“And?” Helena muttered. Hunnigan shrugged one shoulder a little.

“The call was disconnected, but I knew one of the officers who arrived at the scene so I called him to ask what happened. He told me the mother had attempted to stab the younger sister but the girl who’d called me had shielded her. She’d gotten stabbed in the thigh, the blade had nicked an artery and they’d rushed her to the hospital, but she needed a transfusion.”

“There was no blood available,” Helena said and it was more of a statement than a question.

“Exactly, and she needed type O-negative specifically. The hospital was nearby, I’m type O-negative, so I went over and donated blood. As for the rest of the family, the mother was shot by the officers because she tried to attack them. She’d been abusing alcohol and antidepressants and gone into psychosis. She’d bashed her husband’s head in with a meat cleaver,” Hunnigan said, took a long drag of the cigarette and leaned back in the porch swing.

“The sisters survived. The older one got a scar and was undoubtedly traumatized at least to some extent… the younger one didn’t probably even remember much of it all afterward,” Hunnigan finished her story.

“She didn’t. I’m glad she didn’t. At least Deborah had a chance of a normal life,” Helena muttered and turned to look at Hunnigan. “Why didn’t you tell me it was you who saved me back then?”  
“Would me telling you have made a difference in anything?” Hunnigan shrugged.

“Maybe. At least then I would’ve understood why you’re so protective of me.”  
“I took you under my wing because you’re a good agent with a bad temper and in need of some guidance, not because of what happened back then. When I got your file originally, I wasn’t even sure it was you, I never saw you then and Helena Harper isn’t exactly a unique name,” Hunnigan smirked.

“You should’ve told me.”  
“Why? So you’d have me to blame when your life sucks? Or so that you could go on thinking you somehow owe me something?”

“But I do owe you everything, starting from that day to… today!”

“Well, then pay me back by learning to control your temper so that you can go back to work. I know you’re a good woman and an excellent agent. In every battle situation, in every simulation I’ve seen you, you always saved the civilians, you always put them and their safety ahead. Sadly, doing so is not a requirement for an agent which is why you’re a rarity. I’m not protective of you because of your past, I’m protecting you from yourself for selfish reasons, I don’t want to lose you just because you insist on being a hotheaded idiot at times,” Hunnigan said.

She took one more drag from the cigarette and put it out. She shook herself mentally and sighed, deciding to change the subject somewhat.

“If you want to get reinstated fast, you’d make yourself look better if you volunteered for anger management classes or even showed some remorse for your actions.”  
“Hah, waste of my time and the agency’s resources, I’ll pass. Besides, I’m not sorry for my actions, Murphy deserved it,” Helena scoffed.

“Well, even if he did, that doesn’t excuse your actions as far as the agency is concerned,” Hunnigan said, patted Helena’s knee and stood up. “Have you eaten?”  
“Uh… no, I haven’t, actually.”

“I was about to get dinner started, you’re welcome to join me if you’d like,” Hunnigan invited.  
“I would love that, thank you,” Helena said and followed Hunnigan inside. The moment the door closed behind them, a rapid clicking sound could be heard approaching quickly from the hallway. Helena’s eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dim room and she couldn’t see what it was. The next thing she knew, something solid and heavy impacted into her shins, literally sending her flying for a moment before she fell on her stomach on the floor.

“What the hell was that!” Helena exclaimed when she could finally breathe again.  
“Wrex! Bad dog!” Hunnigan scolded the snarling and grumbling red coated bulldog as she dragged him away from Helena.

“Sit!” she ordered sternly and the dog complied, his jaw jutting out a little like he was sulking, the expression on his wrinkly face emphasized by the sad look he was giving.  
“Are you all right?” Hunnigan then asked and helped Helena up.

“Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me. That’s one hell of a watchdog you got,” Helena coughed a little and stood up.  
“I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you, I wasn’t expecting him to even be awake, he’s a lazy dog,” Hunnigan said and as if to confirm this, Wrex yawned deeply.

“He’s friendly, but sometimes forgets how strong he is. Kind of like you,” Hunnigan smirked.  
“He’s cuter than I am tho, so I bet he gets away with more than I do.”

“I don’t know, considering you nearly fractured my rib, I think you’ve gotten away with more as it is,” Hunnigan said and only when she saw the hurt and embarrassed look pass Helena’s face, she realized her words had come out sounding worse than she’d meant them.

“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”  
“No, it really wasn’t, it’s okay,” Helena assured. “Can I pet him?” she changed the subject, nodding toward the dog.

“Sure,” Hunnigan smiled and Helena knelt down to greet the dog. Wrex sniffed at her for a while before slumping to lay on his back, offering his belly for her to rub. Helena laughed softly and gladly obliged, eliciting a series of excited little grunts from the dog.

***


	3. Chapter 3

Helena awoke with a jerk, taking several shallow panicky breaths as she slowly became aware of her surroundings and realized he’d been having a dream. She was on Hunnigan's couch where she'd passed out after insisting on finishing the bottle of bourbon she'd brought with her. She didn't understand where Hunnigan had found the patience to look after Helena when she was in that state. She was grateful for it regardless of how. Going home alone was the last thing she'd wanted after getting the rather painful reminder of her childhood earlier that day... even if it had served a purpose.

“Jesus…” she sighed and slumped back on the couch. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the breath out in a long slow exhale, trying to will her body to calm down and trying to dispel the disturbingly vivid image of her father slumped over the kitchen table, the top of his head bashed in, cracked like a breakfast egg in a cup.

The rain hummed against the tile roof of Hunnigan’s house, a few solitary drops making a louder sound when a gust of wind occasionally blew them against the window. Helena got up and went over to the bedroom. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room Helena stared into and she knocked on the open door softly.

“Hey, you still up?” she whispered.

“Helena? Is something wrong?” Hunnigan asked and sat half upright on the bed, leaning to her forearms. Wrex didn’t even notice she moved, he seemed equally unaware of the raging thunderstorm outside, he kept happily snoring on the spot he’d claimed for himself on the bed, his back pressed against Hunnigan’s side.

“Well, no, not exactly, I just… had a bit of a nightmare.”  
“Do you want to get in with me?” Hunnigan asked sleepily and pulled the covers back, moving further to the other edge of the bed, pushing Wrex a little to move him out of the way. The dog didn’t even wake up during the maneuver.

That hadn’t been Helena’s intention when she’d turned up at the bedroom door, she’d just wanted to see if Hunnigan was still awake and available for a chat, but since Hunnigan offered, she was happy to accept the invitation.

“I still can’t get over the fact that it was you,” Helena mumbled after getting in bed and settling to lay on her back, resting her head on her arm.  
“Was what?” Hunnigan muttered, mirroring Helena’s position.

“That you were the dispatcher.”  
“I admit that this whole thing is quite the coincidence but that’s life for you,” Hunnigan said sleepily.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Helena said and turned to lie on her side, leaning to nudge Hunnigan’s shoulder with her forehead.

“What?”  
“Hold me?”

“Come here.”

Helena scooted closer to her, reaching to nuzzle into her neck and let her arm wrap around Hunnigan’s midsection.

“Can I talk to you?” Helena asked and Hunnigan let out a quiet hum as she ran her hand through Helena’s hair in long, slow strokes. Helena took that as a yes.  
“Is it weird that I still sometimes miss my mom despite everything that happened?”

“When she attacked you and your father, she wasn’t herself anymore. It’s not weird to miss the real her,” Hunnigan said.

“The thing is, she wasn’t a very good mom if I’m honest. I don’t think she ever actually wanted to have kids. I remember this one time… she was drunk, as was pretty usual… and she wanted to go out with her friends and my dad told her she couldn’t because she had agreed to watch us for the night because dad had to go work a night shift. And mom told him… and I quote, ‘I don’t care about the kids’. She certainly acted like that too,” Helena mumbled. Hunnigan hugged her tighter against herself but didn’t comment.

“I’m telling you, if it weren’t for legal ramifications, she would’ve probably just drowned us when we were babies or something.”  
“You don’t have any good memories of her?”

“Only a couple and even those… Well, sometimes when she’d drink rum and cokes, she’d have a couple of glasses worth of cola left in the morning and she let Deb and I share that, so that was nice,” Helena scoffed a little and Hunnigan couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“I don’t understand why she didn’t just leave since she made it so obvious she didn’t want to be there either.”  
“Because then she wouldn’t have had anyone else to blame for her misery or abuse her power with.”

“Huh?” Helena frowned and tilted her head back a little to be able to look at Hunnigan. She still had her eyes closed, the soft blue light from outside causing the raindrops on the window to draw shadows on her cheeks. She was beautiful.

 _I’m getting distracted,_ Helena mentally shook herself.

“Look, I don’t claim to know the first thing about your mother but sounds to me like she might have been a narcissist at least to some extent. She didn’t really want you, but she couldn’t be without you either because then she wouldn’t have been able to pull off the ‘tormented mother’-act.”

“I guess you might be right. I wish dad would’ve left her before things went to hell.”  
“What was he like?” Hunnigan asked.

“He was actually a lot like Leon which is why my skin crawls every time Leon flirts with me,” Helena said and Hunnigan chuckled.

“Oh, wow. Please, let me be the one to tell him that,” she said.  
“Sure,” Helena humphed amusedly. “Either way, dad was one of the good guys. I mean, he wasn’t perfect, but he was a good father and a good man.”

“I’m sure he’d be proud of how you turned out.”  
“Yeah maybe,” Helena said and pressed her face against Hunnigan’s neck once more. “Sometimes I worry that I’ll end up turning out like mom,” she muttered against Hunnigan’s skin.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her hand resting on the back of Helena’s head, her fingers in her hair, but now still. Helena wished Hunnigan would caress the back of her neck again. She’d been intimate with more people than she cared to count, especially recently, but this felt different. There was something much more intimate about the way Hunnigan held her now than there’d been when Helena had shared her bed and her body with strangers.

“I mean I’m scared that one day it’ll happen to me. All that crazy shit is already built in me, what if I’ll just lose it completely one day? You’ve seen how I act, and the thing is… like just recently with what happened with Murphy… I liked it.”

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear you say that.”  
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t.”

“Did you like roughing him up because you just enjoy the violence, or did you like it because it felt right to punish someone who deserved it?” Hunnigan rephrased.  
“The latter, I think.”

“Then I don’t believe there’s anything out of the ordinary about that, really. But, I am not a mental health professional, and you really should see one.”  
“I’m not crazy.”  
“No, but you’re angry all the time and you need to figure out why that is exactly,” Hunnigan reasoned and Helena sighed. She hated having to admit it but Hunnigan had a valid point. “You should get some sleep, you have a meeting with the committee tomorrow.”

“Shit, I forgot.”  
“I figured.”

“How’d you even have that arranged so quickly?” Helena asked, rising to rest her weight on her forearm. Hunnigan turned to lay on her back and yawned. Wrex grunted in his sleep when she moved and turned to look over his shoulder. When he saw his human was still safe and sound, he went back to sleep.

“John owed me a favor from that time I had dinner with him. Well, you were there,” Hunnigan answered and Helena frowned, trying to remember. She recalled the man with blue eyes and short dark hair, the guy who’d walked out of the restaurant with Hunnigan the night Helena had made a scene.

“Oh, shit, that was the deputy director?”  
“Yep. I’m thinking you made an everlasting impression,” Hunnigan chuckled a little.

“Crap… Wait, so, you agree to go out with someone in exchange for favors?” Helena quirked an eyebrow and Hunnigan opened her eyes, turning to look at her.

“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds tawdry!” she scoffed. “But it’s not like that. John’s gay, I’m agreeing to go out with him to these boring dinner-meetings with these boring old politicians who wouldn’t necessarily say anything to his face if they found out, but trust me, they’d find a way to smoke him out of the agency just because he’s gay. Besides, it’s not like he’s the only who benefits from our arrangement.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. You think those old guys in charge of budgeting, hiring and other big decisions regarding the agency would ever listen to a woman? Hell no. So, I tell John my ideas and he repeats them and something actually gets done. It wouldn’t happen if I tried getting them to listen to me.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that he gets all the credit?”  
“Not really, John acknowledges that they were my ideas and doesn’t belittle my efforts.”

“…so, you used up a favor just to help me out?”  
“Well, I just promised John I wouldn’t order lobster the next time I have to pretend to be his girlfriend, it’s no big deal,” Hunnigan chuckled.

“It is a big deal; the gesture is a big deal. You don’t have to protect me.”  
“I wish I could believe that, but I don't. Not at the moment. Prove me wrong."

 ***


	4. Chapter 4

Helena had been on this side of the table so many times that she no longer found it intimidating. The five people sitting on the other side of the table were browsing through their papers and finally the woman in charge placed her hands on the folder in front of her and interlaced her fingers.

“Agent Harper, this committee has been made aware of the extenuating circumstances under which you felt it necessary to assault mister Murphy,” she began and Helena barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

_Yeah, circumstances like a grown ass man beating the hell out of a thirteen year old girl just because he’s having a bad day,_ she thought but bit her tongue; she didn’t want to risk getting into more trouble, mouthing off right now wouldn’t be worth it.

“We are placing you on six months’ probation under the supervision of agent Hunnigan,” the woman then said.  
“Wait, what? No, no, no, you can’t do that, that’s insane!”

“It was agent Hunnigan’s suggestion. A failure on your part will be considered a failure on her part,” the lady quirked an eyebrow and Helena sighed.

_Hunnigan, you clever girl_ , she thought. Hunnigan had put her own career on the line to give Helena just the incentive she needed to clean up her act, she’d known Helena wouldn’t do it for her own sake.

“Agent Hunnigan didn’t do anything wrong, she shouldn’t be held accountable for my actions,” Helena protested.  
“Well, look at it this way, agent Harper; it won’t matter because you’re not going to misbehave in the future, right?” the woman said, giving Helena stern look, making it clear that this was non-negotiable.

“…can I go now?”  
“Dismissed.”

* * *

“What’s your problem?” Leon asked as he invited himself to take a seat at Helena’s table by dragging a chair over from an empty table next to Helena’s. She scoffed, took a long drink from her pint and slammed the glass against the small table with a loud thud, causing some of the beer to spill over.

“Nothing. Everything’s great. I’m celebrating,” she said.  
“This has got to be the moodiest celebration I’ve ever seen,” Leon said and leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.

“Okay, you wanna know what’s wrong? I’ll tell you. Ingrid Hunnigan!” Helena spat angrily and Leon frowned.  
“What did she do to you?”

“She’s constantly saving my skin and I feel like shit over it because I know I’ll eventually fuck everything up and disappoint her and then she gets in trouble because of me!” Helena ranted.

“Have you ever considered not fucking up?” Leon suggested and took a sip of his whiskey.  
“Have you ever considered keeping your mouth shut?” Helena mocked and Leon scoffed.

“Man, I wish you two would just fuck and get it over with,” he mumbled into his glass and she glared at him.  
“The hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on. You can’t deny there’s some serious sexual tension between the two of you. Not to mention that she’s constantly committing atrocities at her own expense just to keep you out of trouble.”  
“Yeah, like she hasn’t put her ass on the line to save you too, was that just sexual tension too?” Helena taunted and Leon chortled.

“No, that’s something called mutual trust which we’ve had almost a decade to build. You, on the other hand, just showed up and she seems to have decided to just trust you. I wonder why that is,” he said smugly.  
“Maybe she’s not as smart as everyone thinks she is,” Helena muttered.

“Or maybe she sees something in you no one else seems to see. It’s like she sees only the best of you. And, I gotta agree, when you’re at your best, you’re amazing. But she doesn’t seem to lose her faith in you even when you fuck up. I can think of only one reason why a woman would put herself through shit like that voluntarily,” Leon commented.

Helena quirked an eyebrow, getting a sense that he was talking from personal experience, only he’d been in Helena’s shoes and someone else had played the role of Hunnigan in his life. She didn’t know who, though, he’d never mentioned anything about a woman. Other than Ada, but Ada didn’t come across as the type to hang around to watch a man fumble.

“The question is, what are you going to do about it?”  
“About what?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. Hunnigan cares about all her agents, but you’re the only one she’s willing to sacrifice her entire life’s work for. You’re not stupid, you know why that is.”  
“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s hardly a matter of faith,” Leon chuckled.  
“Regardless, someone like her would never be interested in a loser like me.”

“You know what they say, opposites attract.”  
“Oh, fuck you, Leon.”

“Well, fuck you too, Helena. If you weren’t such a coward, you’d admit that you have feelings for her too and you’d just ask her out.”  
“I’m not gonna ask Hunnigan out.”

“Why not?”  
“Because I don’t have anyone like her in my life and I don’t want to do anything to risk losing her.”

“Well, how about you just stop behaving like a horny frat boy and show her that you can be serious and maybe she’ll be less likely to think that you’re just looking to add another notch on your belt. Show her that you’re not just a troublemaker.”  
“That’s the thing, don’t you get it? I _am_ a troublemaker.”

“Then maybe it’s time you considered growing up,” Leon smiled sweetly and reached to pat Helena’s head like she were just a kid. She swatted his hand away annoyedly and he laughed.

* * *

 

Helena squared her shoulders and hit the dial-key on her phone. She paced back and forth nervously as she waited for Hunnigan to pick up.

“Hey. What’s up?”  
“Not a lot, just finishing up some paperwork regarding a certain field agent’s reinstatement,” Hunnigan smiled, the sound of typing clearly audible in the background.

“Yeah, that was, um… some stunt you pulled,” Helena said.  
“Yeah, well, I know you, and I know I gotta pull stunts to keep you out of trouble. Just make it worth my while and we’ll call it even.”

“No promises,” Helena scoffed amusedly.  
“Was there something you needed?” Hunnigan then asked.

“Yeah. Well, ‘need’ might be a strong word for it, but then again… it is important. I mean, not like life-and-death-important, so if you’re busy it can wait, but I was—”  
“Helena, you’re babbling, what do you need?” Hunnigan interrupted, chuckling a little.

“I just wanted to ask you if you’d want to have dinner with me. Like… like a date, you know?” Helena asked. The sound of typing stopped.  
“Oh.”

“…or, would that be weird?”  
“Not… weird, necessarily, just…”

“It’s okay, I get it, but just thought I’d ask,” Helena cleared her throat awkwardly.  
“Helena, it’s not that I wouldn’t want to, but the thing is… my integrity is already being questioned by some people because of my tendency to turn a blind eye to you and Leon’s shenanigans, you can imagine how it would look if I went out with you.”

“Yeah, I… wait, did you say you would want to go out with me?”  
“…mmmaybe.”

“So… what if we went out so that no one knows about it and therefore has no reason to question your integrity?” Helena offered, smiling a little. Hunnigan laughed gently.  
“That’s a nice thought, but I don’t think…”

“Okay, lemme stop you there. Look… um… the thing is, I really like spending time with you, and I’d want to see if we could be more than that. If it doesn’t work, then it won’t, but imagine if it did.”  
“If it did, we’d have to keep hiding it or risk losing our jobs, that doesn’t sound ideal to me.”

“Yeah, well, then I’ll just get another job,” Helena said. She wasn’t even fully joking.  
“You’re not gonna take no for an answer, are you?” Hunnigan asked.

"Obviously not. I'm thinking it's in my blood," Helena said, implying it was something she'd gotten from Hunnigan during the transfusion years ago and Hunnigan could hear the smile in her voice. “Just give me chance. Let’s have dinner, let’s see what happens. If it doesn’t work out, then we don’t have to worry. If it does, then we’ll figure something out. How does that sound?” she reasoned more seriously.  
“Dinner it is then. Pick me up at seven.”

***


	5. Chapter 5

“So… any chance you’d want to do this again?” Helena asked as she and Hunnigan stood on her porch. She had asked the same thing at least four times a week for the past five or so weeks she and Hunnigan had been seeing each other.  
“You know I do. Would you want to come inside, have a nightcap, say hi to Wrex?” Hunnigan invited.

“Uh… Naw, I’d better get going. I’ll call you tomorrow?”  
“Helena, wait. I’m getting a bit confused about what we’re doing here exactly,” Hunnigan sighed.

“How so?”  
“Well, you ask me out and we have a good time, but the times I’ve asked you to come over after, you turn me down, so I don’t really know where to go from here.”

“Ah, that… I, um… it’s not that I wouldn’t want to. Believe me, I want to.”  
“Then I don’t understand,” Hunnigan frowned and Helena exhaled deeply and told Hunnigan about the conversation she’d had with Leon a while back, a conversation during which he’d advised her to quit behaving like a horny frat boy.

“A horny frat boy? Well, I suppose that’s one way of describing hypersexual behavior,” Hunnigan laughed. “So, I take it you’re assuming that by inviting you in, I’m also inviting you to my bed?” she then quirked an eyebrow and Helena offered an awkward smile.

“Well, in my experience, that’s usually how things end up going.”

Hunnigan pursed her lips as she thought about it, folding her arms over her abdomen and moving to lean her shoulder to the door frame. Finally, she nudged the door open and went inside.

“Are you coming or not?” she asked over her shoulder.

* * *

Helena woke up, opened her eyes slowly and reached to feel the other side of the bed, her hand landing on Hunnigan’s thigh.

“Good morning,” Hunnigan said with a smile and sunk her fingers into Helena’s hair, scratching her scalp gently.  
“Good morning,” Helena replied and wrapped her arm around Hunnigan’s waist and scooted closer so that she could rest her head in Hunnigan’s lap, shoving the laptop out of the way as she did.

“I was surprised you’re still here,” Hunnigan said and reached to put the laptop onto the bedside table.  
“…was I supposed to leave?” Helena frowned turning to look at Hunnigan.

“No,” she chuckled and shook her head, running her hand through Helena’s hair. “I just assumed you would sneak out before morning.”  
“Why?” Helena questioned and reached to nuzzle Hunnigan’s abdomen, hugging her tighter.

“I don’t know, it just seemed like something you might do,” Hunnigan shrugged one shoulder.  
“Well, you’re not entirely wrong, if you were someone else then maybe, but I’m serious about you. This means everything to me. You mean everything to me. I’m…” Helena cut herself off and Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow at the abrupt stop.

“What?”

Helena exhaled deeply and turned to lay on her back, her head still resting in Hunnigan’s lap.

“I have never said this to anyone because I haven’t ever felt it either. Never really dared to, I usually just end up hurting people, that’s why a string of meaningless one night stands was easier, you know?”  
“I think so.”

“Yeah. But this is different. I’m falling in love with you. Hard. Frankly, I don’t think it’s very sensible considering everything, but I can’t help it. I want to be with you like this,” Helena said.  
“Well, then you’re lucky I feel the same way,” Hunnigan smiled and leaned to kiss Helena’s forehead softly.

“So… does this mean I’ll have to start looking for another job?” Helena then asked.  
“No, I’ll just have you transferred into another F.O.S. agent’s care,” Hunnigan said.

“You mean that was an option all along and you didn’t tell me!” Helena exclaimed and Hunnigan grinned.  
“Yes. I just wanted to see you sweat a little,” she confirmed.

“Oh, you are evil.”  
“Oh, come on, admit it, it was kind of exhilarating to sneak around,” Hunnigan smirked.

“Well, maybe a little. But I don’t want to hide this. Frankly, I don’t think I could even if I tried.”  
“Yeah. Leon already knows, I have no idea how.”

“He’s an ex-cop, he’s supposed to know when people are up to something,” Helena supposed.  
“He was a cop for a day,” Hunnigan laughed a little. “But you have a point. Maybe he’s more perceptive than the average guy. Or then we’re more transparent than we like to think we are.”

Helena moved to straddle Hunnigan’s legs and leaned closer to her, nuzzling into the side of her neck, peppering it with small kisses, making her way over to pinch Hunnigan’s earlobe between her lips.

“You know… last night… you really surprised me.”  
“How so?” Hunnigan asked, tilting her head to the side and closing her eyes.

“You are the most passionate and dedicated lover I’ve ever had. I never expected there to be that kind of fire underneath the cool and detached exterior you have,” Helena whispered into Hunnigan’s ear before proceeding to softly nip at its edges.  
“It’s a side I rarely show to anyone.”

“It’s a side I’d love to see again,” Helena smiled, trailing her mouth over Hunnigan’s jawline and captured her lips into a passionate kiss, wrapping her arm around Hunnigan and pressing her body tightly against hers.

“And I’ll be happy to show it to you…” Hunnigan began to say but trailed off when she heard the familiar sound of Wrex’s claws on the hardwood floor as the dog made his way toward the bedroom. He sat next to the bed, leaning his muzzle against the edge, a loud smacking sound emanating from him as he lazily licked his nose and grunted a little like an old man before letting out a soft mewl to get his mistress’s attention.

“…after I’ve taken Wrex for his walk and given him his breakfast,” Hunnigan finished her sentence. Helena reluctantly moved aside letting Hunnigan get up from the bed and get dressed.

Wrex remained seated next to the bed, staring up at Helena. He’d become familiar with her in the past few weeks but this time she’d taken his spot on Hunnigan’s bed. He seemed to be uncertain regarding how to feel about it.

“Sorry, buddy,” Helena apologized and reached to pet his wrinkly head. He licked her palm, slobbering all over it and rushed out of the room when Hunnigan called for him.  
“Oh, nice,” Helena sighed as she stared at her drool-covered hand. She went to wash it and headed into the foyer where Hunnigan was putting a leash on the dog.

“How about I make breakfast for us while you’re out?” Helena offered.  
“That sounds amazing, thank you,” Hunnigan smiled, kissed Helena’s lips softly and headed outside.

* * *

Helena rolled to lay on her back and ran a hand over her face, breathing heavily. Hunnigan lay next to her, resting her hand on Helena’s thigh, gently running her fingers over the scar on the inner side of it. Helena exhaled deeply and put her hand over Hunnigan’s.  

“Does it creep you out?” she asked, nodding down, indicating the scar Hunnigan was caressing. A memento from the time her mother had attacked her when she’d been nine years old.

“No, it doesn’t,” Hunnigan whispered and slid lower on the bed. She leaned down to press her lips onto the raised scar tissue, slowly trailing the tip of her tongue along it and then continued sliding her mouth higher along Helena’s thigh, scattering kisses over the skin, finally stopping between her legs.

“Ingrid…” Helena moaned, raising her hips a little to press tighter against Hunnigan’s mouth as she flattened her tongue over Helena’s clit and wrapped her arms around Helena’s thighs to keep her from bucking too much.

Helena had barely begun to recover from the previous orgasm, it didn’t take much for Hunnigan to push her right back to that edge. Hunnigan slipped two fingers inside her and curled them, flicking the tips of them repeatedly against the sensitive spot inside. Helena came hard and fast, her body shuddering as the ripples of pleasure flooded through her, her hips rocking against Hunnigan’s mouth as if they had a will of their own.

Hunnigan slid her fingers out slowly and brought her hand to rest on the outer side of Helena’s thigh, caressing it with long slow strokes, her mouth still firmly pressed between Helena’s legs, slowly easing her back from her peak, Helena’s frantic gasps and whimpers slowly turning into almost breathless quiet moans.

Hunnigan moved up on the bed, wrapping her arms around Helena and she eagerly eased into the embrace, pressing a side of her face against Hunnigan’s chest and letting her eyes close as she listened to the sound of Hunnigan’s heartbeat. She was so relaxed she felt herself begin to drift off to sleep but jolted awake when a low, whiny mewling sound came from somewhere behind Hunnigan.

“It’s okay, it’s just Wrex, he wants to get on the bed,” Hunnigan said calmly when she felt Helena jump a little in her arms at the sudden noise.

“Jesus…” Helena exhaled deeply and tried to calm down. Hunnigan reached her arm back and patted the empty spot on the bed. Wrex immediately accepted the invitation and jumped onto the bed, eagerly reaching over Hunnigan’s shoulder to see Helena. He sniffed at her and she couldn’t help but cringe a little when his wet nose poked against her cheek and his breath offended her nose.

“Wrex, back off,” Hunnigan ordered and he obediently did so, focusing his attention on Hunnigan then, snorting and snuffling at the back of her neck before slumping to lay on the bed, resting his head between his paws.

“He must think I smell funny what with all of the sweat and other various bodily fluids we’ve recently combined,” Hunnigan chuckled.  
“Yeah, I mean, even I can smell it on someone if they’ve just had sex, I can’t imagine how it must be like for a dog,” Helena scoffed amusedly.

“You can?”  
“Sure. But, only if it’s recent. Like the one time agent Williams and Leon did it in the evidence room. I mean, I didn’t catch them in the act, but I went there shortly after and the room reeked of sex and so did Leon and considering that was the day Williams showed up to innocently bring him lunch, put two and two together,” Helena shrugged.

“Now, there’s a job you could do if you ever want to switch careers, be a private investigator, catch people cheating just by smelling them,” Hunnigan chuckled.  
“I’d rather keep my current job, if possible,” Helena said.

“Well, either way, if that is the case, no wonder Wrex thinks I smell weird, it’s not something he’s ever smelled on me in his life.  
“How long have you had him?”

“Since he was a puppy.”  
“And how old is he?”

“Four years old.”  
“You haven’t had sex in four years?” Helena exclaimed in surprise and Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow at her reaction.

“Actually, it would’ve been eight years this August,” she corrected and couldn’t help but laugh a little at the plethora of different looks of disbelief that passed over Helena’s face when she heard that.  
“How is that even possible, don’t you have needs?”

“Sex is not a need.”  
“I beg to differ!” Helena scoffed amusedly.

“It’s not a need. If it were, I’d be dead from the lack of it.”  
“All right, fine, it’s a want then. So, in general, I take it you don’t want it? I mean, if you didn’t then why..?”

“I did want it with you just now, I do want it with you in the future, but I could never do what you were doing a while back. You know, one night stands and such. I don’t look at a person and think ‘Hm, I sure would like to have sex with them’, it doesn’t work like that for me.”

“Then how does it work?” Helena frowned.  
“Like demisexuality does,” Hunnigan shrugged one shoulder.

“I don’t know what that means.”  
“It means that I’m not interested in having sex with someone unless there’s emotions involved. I, personally, need to be in love with someone before I’d even consider having sex with them.”

“So, you’re in love with me,” Helena deduced from that and thinking about it made her feel warm inside and also somewhat excited.  
“You already knew that.”

“I did, but you never actually said it,” Helena pouted and Hunnigan smiled, reaching to cup Helena’s cheek and urging her to look up and into her eyes.  
“I love you, Helena.”

 

_End_


End file.
